We all know the Apple iPhone will arrive in June but we still haven't received official work on the specific day it will hit stores. But just yesterday the MyiPhone blog posted a letter that Apple allegedly sent to the FCC in October. The "leaked" memo, which could be a big hoax, asked the FCC to withhold the iPhone's antenna information, schematic diagram, block diagram, and theory of operation from public disclosure indefinitely. According to the letter, those details contain proprietary information that would give "competitors an unfair advantage."

Apple then goes on to ask that external photos, radiation testing information, and the iPhone's user manual be kept confidential until June 15, 2007. Normally, such information becomes publicly available as part of a phone's certification process. Since Apple hardly is the first manufacturer to try to protect trade secrets, the MyiPhone blog was more concerned with the June 15 date. Could that mean a release date around that time? In all seriousness, it doesn't seem to far-fetched since Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference ends that very day in San Francisco. Now there's food for thought.

About the author

Kent German leads CNET's How To coverage and is the senior managing editor of CNET Magazine. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he started in San Francisco and is now based in the London office. When not at work, he's planning his next trip to Australia, going for a run, or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
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